Beadle, sometimes spelled "bedel," is a lay official of a church or synagogue
who may usher, keep order, make reports, and assist in religious functions; or a
minor official who carries out various civil, educational, or ceremonial
duties. The term has pre-Conquest origins in Old
English, deriving from the Old English bydel, itself deriving from beodan. In
Old English it was a title given to an Anglo-Saxon officer who summoned
householders to council. In religion
In England, the word came to refer to a parish constable of the Anglican Church,
one often charged with duties of charity. A famous fictional constabulary
beadle is Mr. Bumble from Charles Dickens's classic novel Oliver Twist,
who oversees the parish workhouse and orphanage.
In the Church of Scotland, the title is used for one who attends the minister
during divine service as an assistant. In Judaism, the term "beadle" is
sometimes used for the gabbai, the caretaker or "man of all work", in a
synagogue. Moishe the Beadle, the caretaker of a synagogue in Sighet in
the 1940s, is an important character in Night by Elie Wiesel.
In education In the medieval universities beadles
were students chosen by instructors to act as assistants: carrying books,
taking attendance, and assisting in classroom management.
In the collegiate universities in the United Kingdom, the post of Esquire
Bedell still exists. The beadle has varying duties, always relating to
management or security, and often represents the college to outsiders
through wearing a uniform and providing information. The position of Beadle
still exists at the King's School Canterbury, where the beadle's task is
making sure that pupils are dressed correctly and arrive at lessons on time.
In Scotland, the ancient universities, as well as other newer universities,
have a ceremonial bedellus, who is also sometimes given the designation of head
janitor. Officially, the bedellus is responsible for administration of the
university buildings. The most notable responsibility of the bedellus is
carrying the university mace in academic processions.
Jesuit secondary schools formerly maintained the post of beadle—some still
do. In each classroom, a student designated as beadle reports attendance
to the teacher, acts as messenger, assists in distributing materials, and
leads the class in activities. Other uses
Outside of religious and educational institutions, the designation of
"Beadle" is most often held by officers of secular bodies of some antiquity.
Sometimes the title is used by uniformed security guards. For example, security
duties at the Burlington Arcade, an upmarket shopping mall in Piccadilly,
London, are carried out by staff called Beadles wearing what appear to be
nineteenth century uniforms. Also, Ely Place, a street in central London that
is nominally part of Cambridgeshire, is patrolled by a beadle, and police cannot
enter the street without the beadle's permission.
= City of London = In the City of London the title is held
by two distinct groups; both originated as "executors" or police for more senior
persons. The first group are the Ward Beadles, who hold the oldest elected
office in the City in their Wards. Their duties today are largely ceremonial in
that they accompany the Aldermen in the eight major ceremonies of the civic
calendar and open and close the Wardmotes. The second group are paid
employees of the Livery Companies of the City. These Beadles are usually
assistants to the Company's Clerk, being responsible for attendance on the Court
and Master of the Company—originally to enforce its trade policy, but now to act
as Masters of Ceremony at formal banquets and to accompany the Master on
civic occasions. The title "Hall Beadle" is also held by the administrator of a
Livery Hall. References
Notes Sources
This article incorporates text from The Modern World Encyclopædia: Illustrated;
out of UK copyright as of 2005.